Baked Pork Tenderloin Recipe

4.84 from 6 votes

Baked Pork Tenderloin is a delicious option for any dinner or holiday feast. It's flavorful, tender, and easy to make. The honey glaze bakes right into the pork, and then we caramelize it at the end to create a nice crispy coating. This beautiful honey mustard pork recipe is sure to impress everyone who tries it!

Prep Time30

Cook Time2

Chill Time2

Total Time4 30

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Becky Hardin

Equipment

Baking Sheet
Kitchen Torch (Click for my favorite)

Ingredients

For the Pork and Honey Glaze

3 pounds pork loin roast or pork tenderloin
4 tablespoons salted butter melted (½ stick)
4 tablespoons honey mustard
2 tablespoons honey or hot honey
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard or old-style mustard
1¼ cups apple cider or apple juice - not apple cider vinegar!
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

For the Honey Baked Dry Rub and Glaze

3 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons ground nutmeg or ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1½ teaspoons ground ginger
¾ teaspoon ground sweet paprika
¾ teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup water or ½ cup apple juice + ½ cup water

Instructions

For the Pork Loin: 2-24 Hours Before Cooking

Line a rimmed, small baking sheet (longer and wider than the roast) with foil and coat a metal rack insert with cooking spray. Set aside.
Unwrap the pork and pat it dry with paper towels. Liberally season the pork with salt and pepper.
3 pounds pork loin roast, Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Score the roast with a sharp knife every ½ inch apart and ¼ inch down through the top and halfway down the sides of the meat.
Make the honey glaze. Whisk together the melted butter, honey mustard, honey, and mustard.
4 tablespoons salted butter, 4 tablespoons honey mustard, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
Rub the honey glaze over the entire roast and in between the knife cuts.
Refrigerate the pork, uncovered, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

To Cook the Pork Loin

Remove the pork (and pan) from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Pour 1¼ cups apple juice into the pan and cover the pork and pan tightly with foil.
1¼ cups apple cider
Place the pork with the baking sheet on the center rack and roast until the internal temperature registers 140°F, about 1 ½-2 hours. Remove the roast from the oven and allow to rest 15 minutes.

For the Pork Dry Rub

While the pork cooks, make the honey baked pork rub. Whisk the sugar, salt, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, paprika, and allspice together. Place half of the dry rub into a small saucepan and set aside. Use the other half of the dry rub to brûlée the pork.
3 cups granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon table salt, 2 teaspoons ground cloves, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1½ teaspoons ground nutmeg, 1½ teaspoons ground ginger, ¾ teaspoon ground sweet paprika, ¾ teaspoon ground allspice

For the Pork Glaze

While the pork rests, prepare the pork glaze. Add any pan juices and enough water (to total 1 cup liquid) to the remaining half of the dry rub mixture that has been placed in a small saucepan. If there aren’t any remaining juices, use 1 cup water or part water and apple juice/cider. Whisk to fully incorporate and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until sauce has thickened to desired glaze consistency (like a thin syrup).
1 cup water
Remove from the heat and serve drizzled over the pork. If the glaze becomes too thick, simply reheat it over low heat. If it’s still too thick, add a little water or apple juice/cider to thin it out.

For Serving

After the pork has cooled for about 15 minutes, uncover and brush it with the pan juices.
Press half of the dry rub all around the pork. The sugar will eventually form a crust around the pork roast.
To get a crunchy, crusty coating on the pork, use a kitchen torch or place the pork under the oven broiler. If using the broiler, adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and watch the pork very closely, turning it often to ensure it doesn’t burn. If using a kitchen torch (the easier method), keep the torch flame about 1 inch away from the pork. Continuously move the flame in small circles until the surface becomes bubbly then move the torch to the adjoining area until the entire pork has been brûléed.
Cover the pork very loosely with foil and set aside. Serve within 15 minutes.
When ready to serve, slice the pork along the precut slits and serve with the glaze.

Video

Notes

Use hot honey in the glaze for a little extra heat!
Scoring helps to tenderize the pork, and helps it absorb more flavor through the entirety of the meat.
Let the pork tenderloin sit out while preheating the oven. You don’t want it to be cold when it goes in the oven.
If you’re short on time, the pork can marinate for just a couple of hours in the fridge. But don’t skip this step entirely.
Use an instant read thermometer to ensure the internal temp has reached at least 145°F before consuming.
If you don’t have a kitchen torch, place the pork under the broiler to get that crispy caramelized coating.
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, and reheated in the oven.

Storage: Store baked pork tenderloin in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition